Centcom Commander Kenneth McKenzie: “I’m here to announce the completion of our withdrawal in Afghanistan and the end of the military mission to evacuate American citizens, third country nationals and vulnerable Afghans.”

The last military plane out of Afghanistan departed at 3:29 p.m. on the East Coast — that’s 11:59 p.m. in Kabul. We are officially out of Afghanistan.  According to General McKenzie, “The vast majority of U.S. citizens who wanted to leave, were evacuated.”  However, he later continued, “There’s a lot of heartbreak. We did not get everybody out that we wanted to get out.”

Team one (DoS/CIA) are really putting Team two (WH/DoD) on the defensive with this leak.  [Pentagon video at bottom]

According to a Politico report, using leaked classified intelligence from the U.S. intel community, the Pentagon knew well in advance that a suicide bomber was coming to the Abbey Gate long before the explosion.  According to the leak, the military knew where and when the attack was coming; and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned allies to avoid the area.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Joint Chief’s Chariman Mark Milley, and CentCom Commander General Kenneth McKenzie all knew in advance the Abbey Gate was going to be bombed on Thursday, yet they kept the gate open.

(Politico) – Just 24 hours before a suicide bomber detonated an explosive outside Hamid Karzai International Airport, senior military leaders gathered for the Pentagon’s daily morning update on the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.

Speaking from a secure video conference room on the third floor of the Pentagon at 8 a.m. Wednesday — or 4:30 p.m. in Kabul — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin instructed more than a dozen of the department’s top leaders around the world to make preparations for an imminent “mass casualty event,” according to classified detailed notes of the gathering shared with POLITICO.

During the meeting, Gen. Mark Milley, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned of “significant” intelligence indicating that the Islamic State’s Afghanistan affiliate, ISIS-K, was planning a “complex attack,” the notes quoted him as saying.  Commanders calling in from Kabul relayed that the Abbey Gate, where American citizens had been told to gather in order to gain entrance to the airport, was “highest risk,” and detailed their plans to protect the airport.

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A very interesting internal dynamic amid U.S. institutions and their media PR networks solidifies around a lengthy Washington Post report about the day Kabul fell to the Taliban.   It’s not the story per se’ that provides the clarity, although the details are interesting; but rather the intent of the narrative around the story putting accountability for the lack of Kabul security upon the Pentagon.

Remember, Team #1 (State Dept./CIA) use CNN and the Washington Post; while Team #2 (White House, Pentagon, NSC)  do not.

The internal battle amid U.S. government institutions, two teams, in the Afghanistan-crisis blame game, are reflected by this organizational relationship between two U.S. Govt. factions and their media allies.  The overarching problem in this part of the blame game is the security situation in Kabul, specifically the lack of security which led to a terrorist attack that killed 13 American service members at the Kabul airport and wounded hundreds more.

According to the Washington Post outline, the Taliban offered to stay out of the capital city until the U.S. military had departed; however, during an in-person meeting between the head of the Taliban, Abdul Ghani Baradar, and U.S. Central Command Commander, Kenneth F McKenzie, the U.S. general told the Taliban to take the city but leave them the airport.

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There have been various and increasing ¹reports all day that a Biden-authorized U.S. drone strike targeting ISIS-K, in retaliation for their Kabul terrorist attack, not only killed Islamic terrorists, but also killed allies, innocent civilians and children.

[NOTE: I hate to keep harping on this, but it is important context. Remember CNN represents the official position of the State Dept. If CNN reports it, that is Team #1 (Dos/CIA), positioning a narrative to put Team #2 (White House and Pentagon) in a compromising position.]

New York Post – Multiple Afghan civilians, including relatives and children, were reportedly killed in Sunday’s US airstrike near the Kabul airport.

US officials said the drone strike wiped out a vehicle carrying multiple suicide bombers that posed an “imminent ISIS-K threat” to the city’s airport.

The exact amount of casualties was not immediately clear, but a relative of those killed told CNN that nine of his family members died in the drone strike. Six children, ranging in age from 2 to 10, and three adults were among the dead, the relative told the news outlet. (read more)

[Original CNN report HERE] – As the media start to pick up the story, dig and verify the reports of innocents as collateral damage, unbelievably U.S. Central Command (Centcom) releases a public statement seemingly admitting to the issue.

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Earlier today the occupant of the White House, or someone on his behalf, released a written statement on the current status of the Afghanistan crisis:

WHITE HOUSE – “This morning, I met with my national security team in Washington and my commanders in the field. We discussed the strike that U.S. forces took last night against the terrorist group ISIS-K in Afghanistan. I said we would go after the group responsible for the attack on our troops and innocent civilians in Kabul, and we have. This strike was not the last. We will continue to hunt down any person involved in that heinous attack and make them pay. Whenever anyone seeks to harm the United States or attack our troops, we will respond. That will never be in doubt. I thanked General McKenzie for his leadership of that mission, and for his commitment to the safety of our troops in Afghanistan.

The situation on the ground continues to be extremely dangerous, and the threat of terrorist attacks on the airport remains high. Our commanders informed me that an attack is highly likely in the next 24-36 hours. I directed them to take every possible measure to prioritize force protection, and ensured that they have all the authorities, resources and plans to protect our men and women on the ground. They assured me that they did, and that they could take these measures while completing the mission and safely retrograding our personnel.

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Lt. Col Scheller made a public Facebook post criticizing the insufferable decisions in Afghanistan that led to the deaths of 13 U.S. Marines.   The primary issue was the closure of Bagram air base, which many have looked upon at the most brutally obvious strategic blunders in the Afghan exit.  Within his remarks Scheller said:

“I’m not saying we’ve got to be in Afghanistan forever. But I am saying, did any of you throw your rank on the table and say, ‘Hey, it’s a bad idea to evacuate Bagram Airfield, a strategic airbase, before we evacuate everyone’? Did anyone do that? And when you didn’t think to do that, did anyone raise their hand and say, ‘We completely messed this up’?”  WATCH BELOW:

Shortly after Lt. Col. Scheller posted this video he was removed from command.  Despite the overwhelming agreement we share with his outlook, it is also true that compromising or questioning command leadership is a valid reason for removal.  That’s why CTH was angered at the Pentagon failure to remove Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman after he questioned the Commander in Chief, President Trump.  A brutal double standard.

In a follow-up Facebook post, Scheller noted he was relieved of command at 14:30 today.

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Originally the plan of the Taliban was to have Turkey send the people they need to run the airport in Kabul.  However, Turkish President Recep Erdogan told the Taliban he would willingly run the airport for them, but his 600 troops would need to remain as part of the airport security detachment.  The Taliban said no, the Turkish military needed to leave along with all the NATO troops. As a consequence Turkey said until you change your mind, run your own airport.

Here comes plan number two.  Plan number two is the Taliban calling on their second ally in the region, Qatar.

Now, remember, Qatar is home-base for the Muslim Brotherhood.  Both Qatar and Turkey are supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood (Barack Obama supports them also).  The Brotherhood is the political operation of al-Qaeda, al-Nusra, ISIS, ISIS-K and the Taliban.

The Muslim Brotherhood is the covering fabric, and the various Islamic extremist groups are the splines of the extremist umbrella.

Now the Taliban have asked Qatar to run the airport: CAIRO, Aug 27 (Reuters) – The Taliban will ask Qatar for technical assistance in operating Kabul airport, Qatari based Al Jazeera news channel reported on Friday citing a source in the Islamist movement.

The Taliban have asked Turkey for technical help to run the airport after next Tuesday’s deadline for all foreign military forces to pull out of Afghanistan, an ultimatum they say applies equally to Turkish troops.

Earlier today, two officials told Reuters Turkey will not help run the airport after NATO’s withdrawal unless the movement agrees to a Turkish security presence, after deadly attacks outside the airport highlighted the perils of any such mission. (link)

This request highlights the weird realignment we discussed two weeks ago:

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As our nation mourns the loss of 13 U.S. military and dozens wounded in the Kabul airport attack, the White House sends Circle Backs to the podium to obfuscate their responsibility.  The effort is scheduled to begin at 1:45pm ET

Fox News Livestream – FBN Livestream Link – Independent Livestream (live now to listen)

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There are two puzzle pieces that help to make sense of the Politico report about “U.S. Officials” giving the Taliban a list of American and U.S. Afghan names to allow through the checkpoints. {GO DEEP 1 and GO DEEP 2}  However, if you don’t understand the two dueling power teams -each attempting to position- it doesn’t make sense.

Remember, the State Dept (DoS) and CIA are one team.  The White House and Pentagon are another team.

♦ TEAM One – The Department of State is aligned with the CIA.  Their media PR firms are CNN, CNNi and the Washington Post. Their ideology is favorable to the United Nations.  Their internal corruption is generally driven by relationship with foreign actors.  References: Hillary Clinton, Clinton Global Initiative, John McCain, Qatar, Muslim Brotherhood, Samantha Powers, Susan Rice, Cass Sunstein, Brookings Institute, Lawfare, China-centric, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Council on Foreign Relations.

♦ TEAM Two – The White House is aligned with the Pentagon (DoD) and National Security Council (NSC).  Their media PR firms are domestic in nature. New York Times, Politico, etc.  Their internal corruption is generally driven by domestic influence.  References: Barack Obama, George Bush, Wall St, Big Banks, Multinational Corporations, Defense Contractors, FBI (state police), Judicial Branch, and community activists writ large.

Both teams are highly political. However, the State Dept/CIA team consider themselves above political changes; essentially the deeper Deep State.

With the DoS/CIA aligned with CNN/WaPo, when the Pentagon needs to defend their specific interests in crisis management, they must go elsewhere, hence Politico.

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Presented to the Sean Hannity show for broadcast, President Donald Trump delivers a message to the American people and the families of our fallen soldiers.

“This tragedy should have never taken place”…

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